Bolt 2 Point 0
by Falrow
Summary: Bolt 2.0: Something strange happens to Bolt at Penny's new school and abilities start to return to the Super Dog. But when two factions start searching for the Hero behind the strange stories in their small town, will the cost of these gifts be too high?
1. The Good Life

Note: The offical title of this story is "Bolt 2.0" but FFnet doesn't allow periods in titles, so this will have to due.

**Chapter 1****:**** The Good Life**

_Life is goooooooooooooood… _

Bolt awoke to that thought and a giant yawn. The mouth open, tongue-curling kind of yawn, complete with paws up in the sky as if he was grabbing a giant bone. Bolt contemplated his life and decided it couldn't be better.

Sure, his person made half hearted attempts to keep him off the bed, but he knew deep inside she didn't have the heart to yell at him for getting on the bed with her.

So, every night they went through the ritual of Bolt whining and putting his head on the bed, Penny pointing to his pillow and Bolt dejectedly lying down. After 5 minutes he slowly gets up onto her bed, one paw at a time. By this time Penny is mostly asleep, but sometimes she'll tell Bolt to go lie down, which he will happily ignore as he cuddles up to her feet.

Last night he had managed to slowly work his way up to Penny's pillow. When she finally wakes up, he's sure she will playfully push him off the bed again. _If I'm unlucky, I'll land on Mittens. That would be-_

SHOVE!

"_**BOLT!**__" _

_-bad._ _Yah, __the cat__ is not impressed._

The dog is unfazed as he cuddles into Mittens' pillow, not ready to give up on sleep just yet.

"Why can I never sleep in? Or even wake up quietly…" Mittens walked away grumbling, already starting the day on the wrong side of the pillow. At least it wasn't Rhino that woke her up. Nothing makes her grumpier than loud television first thing in the morning.

Penny was giggling at the sulking cat heading out of the room. Mittens jumped up and pushed the long, flat door button Penny had installed on her room door last week. The door unlatched and swung open a little, Mittens pushed it open the rest of the way with her head and went downstairs to try to get a morning meal out of Rose.

It was Penny's turn to unleash her inner dog, with a yawn that any dog would approve of. She looked down at Bolt, who was still lying on the too small pillow but now thumping his tail and looking up at Penny.

Today was going to be a good day, he thought, as he vigorously attacked Penny's face with licks.

*

Penny yawned again as she finished coming down the stairs.

"Mom!"

"In here honey"

She walked into the kitchen to her mom reading the morning paper and petting a contented looking Mittens.

"I guess she has been fed then?"

"Would she let me pet her like this if she wasn't?" Penny considered that, and realized how pointless her question was, so she gave a short laugh at shrugged. "I suppose not".

"So what are you going to do today Penny?"

"Well I need to get ready for the interview at my new school tomorrow. And there is probably some chores you want me to do aren't there?"

"Aren't you smart!" Penny stuck her tongue out at her mom, who laughed.

Their banter was rudely interrupted by Bolt, who whined behind Penny, obviously wanting something and was tired of the humans talking.

"I think your dog wants some food."

"He's your dog too!" Penny's mom gave her The Look.

Bolt was grateful to get his breakfast. Kibble, the breakfast of champions!

*

After breakfast Bolt wanted to play outside, as always. Today Bolt only needed 2 minutes of whining and pushing around the ball before Penny relented, a good start to the day indeed!

"Go get it Bolt!" Penny hurled the ball as far as she could. It landed somewhere in the long grass with the Super dog hot on the trail. Fetch was easily Bolt's favorite game, and no day is complete without a good game of fetch.

Bolt bounded into the long grass, his favorite place to track down the ball. He bounced through the grass, trying to spot the ball. He smelt lots of other interesting things, and a few birds flew off, but Bolt's mission was far too important to be denied. He caught a whiff of the ball, and took a sharp right. His ears were of course perked up, even though the ball never made a noise. _Better to be prepared_, Bolt figured.

He spotted the ball under some grass, tried to dig it out then realized it wasn't his ball. "Bring it here Bolt!" _I've gotta get this ball back to my person..._ _There it is!_

Bolt blasted out of the grass at full speed, happy to be successful in his hunt. He was quite excited and ran around Penny twice before he spat out the now slobbery ball at her feet. Penny laughed at his antics while picking up the ball and wound-up for another epic throw, and Bolt got ready to resume the hunt, barking his excitement.

*

Penny was smiling as she walked up the front steps; there is no better way to start the day then a good game of fetch. Bolt still had boundless energy, but knew he couldn't play fetch all day.

The door slid open as Penny approached, detecting the arrival of Penny's keys on the front porch. She took a quick right into the bathroom off of the entrance. The light turned on automatically, and when she stuck her hands under the tap, water sprayed off her slobbery hands.

"Penny, the fridge is acting up again!"

Penny sighed, always more things to fix. "What is it doing now?"

"It keeps trying to add 20lbs of butter to the grocery list."

_Well, that doesn't sound right…_ "Must be the update from last week, I'll take a look at it later."

"Thanks dear. So is Bolt still following you like a shadow?"

Penny sighed and looked behind her. Sure enough, her faithful companion was sitting in the entrance of the bathroom watching her. Two days ago a neighborhood dog had run up to her barking aggressively. Bolt watched from behind the screen door as the strange dog nipped Penny's legs when she tried to pet it, and he snapped. He quickly scratched the screen and jumped through. The other dog took off running, seemingly scared for his life. Bolt had started to give chase, but came back to Penny when she called him. He sniffed at the small cut the dog had given her on her shin, and whined unhappily.

All day he wouldn't get more than 2 feet from Penny, he even refused to play fetch, and wouldn't eat unless she was beside him. He slept in her arms that night. The next day wasn't any better; Bolt had even poked his head through the shower curtain as she took her morning shower. This never lasted very long as he didn't like getting the water on his nose, but he still stuck his head in a couple of times just to make sure nothing was happening. Penny had laughed at his antics, but it was obvious he was quite upset, even willing to suffer through water on the nose for her.

At least today he seems to be relaxing a bit. He played fetch after a little bit of coaxing, and seems ok as long as he can see her. Penny isn't sure of what will happen tomorrow when she has to go to her placement interview at her new school with the principal. She just hopes he doesn't destroy the house…

"Yah he's still following me Mom" Penny called back to her Mom.

"He hasn't acted like this since before he ran away, and that was months ago. The poor dog probably still thinks he's your hero."

"I think he'll always think that." Penny petted his head with her wet hands. Bolt didn't appreciate that and tried to escape by walking backwards. He shook his head to try to get the water off, and then grumbled his disapproval at Penny. She just laughed and walked out of the bathroom, dog in tow.

*

_It has been a good day,_ Bolt decided as he was getting ready to go to sleep. Penny had done some stuff in the food room with her mom, at first it smelt good, and sometimes it smelt like the stuff they used to wash him last week. Then Penny sat making clicking noises in front of some glowing thing while talking to her mom and playing with the thing with lots of buttons on it. Rhino had called it a remote control, but it looked a lot bigger than the one he used for the TV, and it had its own small TV built into it. Bolt had had no idea what to make of it since it arrived a while ago. Penny seemed really happy when she played with it though, and that made Bolt happy, even if she wasn't playing with him.

Rhino had watched TV all day in Penny's room. Mittens had tried to get him and Bolt to come outside and play, but Rhino had found some show he liked, and Bolt was not going to leave Penny alone, no matter how many times Mittens told him she was safe in the house. She was his person and that was that. Bolt had become lax in his protection duties since he realized he wasn't a super dog, but there will be no more of that. _I will protect you from now on Penny._

Now Bolt was lying on his pillow waiting for Penny to fall asleep so he can get up onto his bed. He didn't mind the pillow, but it wasn't nearly close enough to Penny for him to fall sleep on. Penny had picked him up and put him on the pillow when he refused to leave the bed. Bolt knew that if he kept fighting with her she would get angry, so he just relented until she fell asleep.

She sounds like she is sleeping now, and she has stopped moving around. Bolt gets up and puts one paw on her bed to test.

Nothing happens, so he slowly drags his body up onto the bed. He quietly walks around in a circle a few times, and then lies down near Penny's feet.

The once-was-super dog slowly falls asleep with his head on his person's legs. "I'll never let them get you Penny."

***

_Well, there is my first chapter ever. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have most of the chapters already planned out for this story, and a strong idea of what I want to happen when. I already have chapter 2 and 3 started, but not wrapped up._

_My biggest problem will be motivation. I know that if people are reading the story (which I can see!) and not reviewing, I won't be motivated to keep writing, and a wonderful story will come to an early end. Even a short note saying that you loved it or hated it is all I ask for, but specific criticisms are always welcome. As one of my favorite podcast authors says "Email with questions, comments, criticisms, attaboys and death threats, or leave them in reviews", the link to my email is in my profile.  
_

_If you like what you're reading, pelt your friends with links to the story and make sure they review too!_

_I am also looking for people to beta read my chapters, and people to bounce ideas off of. So if you are interested in getting chapters days or even weeks early, review and mention that you can help me out and I'll contact you._

_But remember, nothing happens unless you review!_

_I'll be posting the next few chapters in the next few days, but until then, I'll leave you with the nagging questions:_

**_What's going to happen at Penny's new school? What will come of Bolt's newfound separation anxiety? What will Rhino do once he gets hold of this new fancy remote? Find out all this and more, next time..._**


	2. Never Say Goodbye

**Chapter 2: Never say goodbye **

Bolt opened his eyes and looked around the dark room, scanning for danger. No one was going to disturb his person while she was sleeping. Satisfied that nothing was moving, he got up to move a little closer to the pillow. _Pillow, you are so comfy…_

Click click click.

"Who's there?"

"Bolt? You're awake?" Rhino was on the bedside table, escaped from his cage as always.

Click click.

"What are you doing that is making those clicking noises?"

"Oh that? I'm just trying to watch some moving pictures on this remote control." Bolt and Rhino were talking quietly, trying to avoid disturbing Penny, or worse, Mittens.

"What are you two yammering on about in the middle of THE NIGHT?!?!" No luck on that front.

"Well, Penny finally let me use the remote control with the TV in it! I want to see all of the great pictures I can get on this thing."

"Rhino, uh I don't think Penny left it there for you to use it; I think it was an accident…" whispered Bolt, he was still trying to be quiet. Penny needs her sleep.

"No way! She put it here for a reason."

"And I think that reason was to test my patience. If you don't go back to sleep right now I swear I'll climb up there and BITE YOUR TAIL OFF!"

Bolt winced as Penny rolled over in her sleep.

"Fine, fine, I'll go back to bed." Rhino grumbled all the way back into his cage.

"He really shouldn't be playing with Penny's toys; I don't think she'd be very happy." Bolt glanced at Penny worriedly.

"Just go to sleep Bolt." Mittens laid back down on to her pillow. Bolt shrugged and moved a bit further up towards the glorious pillow. Looks like he might make it up there tonight…

* * *

"_**PENNY!**__"_

Penny bolted awake at the shrill sound of her mother's voice. She felt movement to her right. She looked down at Bolt who was looking at her with his puppy dog face. _He just doesn't want to get pushed off the bed again. Well too bad._

_Thump._

She didn't exactly shove him off, and she took care to not land him on Mittens this time, as she didn't do anything wrong.

"Look at the time Penny; you're going to be late for your interview!"

Penny glanced at the clock. She couldn't believe it; her trusty computer had failed her! It was 8:53am, and her interview was at 9:30. _I'll barely have enough time for a shower and breakfast._

"I have no idea what happened Mom! This shouldn't happen, I made sure last night tha-" Penny looked over to see the house controller on her bedside table, where she had left it. It was right beside Rhino's cage.

"Oh god, Mom I think Rhino messed with the house controller last night, and managed to turn off both of our alarms."

"That doesn't matter now Penny, we have to get you to that interview on time. Hurry up and shower, I'll get some food together and make sure your _wonderful_ pets are fed."

"Thanks Mom…" Penny said meekly.

Her mom was not impressed by Rhino's antics, and for that matter neither what she. Rhino was now awake and looking at her.

"Rhino," Penny had pointed a stern finger at him, "You had better not play with this thing anymore, or there will be hell to pay!" Penny gestured with the pad, and Rhino shrunk down a bit, getting the message.

She noticed Bolt looking at Mittens with something approaching an 'I-told-you-so' look. Penny did a double take. _Nah, I must just be tired._

She charged off to the shower with Bolt hot on her tail. Today he had no interest in sticking his head into that watery place, guarding the door would just have to be enough.

* * *

Bolt trotted downstairs after Penny. She had done the whole water thing very quickly today, and didn't seem very happy at all.

"Rhino, I think you really screwed up last night." Rhino was already in his ball, flicking through the channels from the sofa.

"What gave you that idea, was it the tongue lashing I just got, or the fact Rose hasn't fed me yet?"

Bolt just chuckled and continued following Penny into the kitchen. He went immediately to his dog bowl, happy that Penny was now here so he could eat.

"Hey Bolt, don't you think they are acting kinda weird this morning?" Bolt glanced to his left to see Mittens contemplating Penny and Rose at the table. Bolt followed her gaze. _Hmm, they aren't joking, or even talking. They are just sitting there and eating. And doing it quite quickly too._

As Bolt watched, Penny finished off half a glass of orange juice, some toast with that sweet stuff on it and what looked like most of a giant bowl of cereal.

"Now that you mention it…"

Bolt tried to remember something that could have caused this, but the only strange thing was Rhino playing with those buttons, and that couldn't cause this much trouble, could it? They are just buttons after all.

"I wonder what is going on today." All this activity over nothing got Bolt's attention. _I had better keep an extra close eye on Penny today._

Bolt went back to his kibble, scarffed down most of the boll, then went over and sat beside Penny. She smiled at him, and shook his ears, which Bolt loves. She then started talking to her mom about something, but Bolt didn't really understand what they were saying.

"Mom, what are we going to do about Bolt? Will he be alright while I'm taking the tour and getting oriented?"

"I don't know honey. Maybe I should just come back here after the interview and play with him. At the very least I can keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't charge off to your rescue."

Penny chuckled at this. "That is just what we need, Bolt running around in Trinity Private School causing havoc. I'd be great if you could come home and keep him company. Right Bolty, you don't want to be left home alone, do you?"

At this, Penny started rubbing his head. Like any dog, Bolt knew exactly what to do when someone rubs your head and says your name. He sat there, dropped his ears back, closed his eyes and looked contented as he received his praise.

To Bolt's right he heard Mittens huff and walk over to Penny's leg and meowed for some attention too.

"Oh yes, you too don't want to be left alone either, do you? Well, my mom can play with both of you. But right now we have to get going, it's almost-" Penny glanced at the clock and froze. "Oh god, it's 9:25!"

"Well, we are lucky this new school that you want to go to so badly is only 1 minute away. Hurry up, grab your bag and your papers from your room, I'll get the car started and out of the garage."

Penny and Rose both left the table suddenly and in a hurry, neither cleaning off their dishes like they normally do. Bolt followed Penny upstairs, having to run a bit to keep up with her. She grabbed some things from her room, shoved them in some kind of bag and threw it on her back, then charged back down the stairs.

Bolt was of course barking and having fun, running meant it was time to play fetch!

Penny opened the door and went out, but then quickly turned around and stopped Bolt from following her outside.

"Bolt you have to stay at home ok? Please, just stay and be a good boy." A loud noise came from that thing Mittens called a 'van'. Penny yelled "I'm coming!", closed the door and took off down the porch to it. Bolt quickly moved over to the long skinny window beside the door.

"Bolt, what's going on? Why are they honking?" Mittens had walked up behind Bolt.

Bolt couldn't believe his eyes, Penny had just ran _into _that monster, sealed herself in and it had quickly taken off out the driveway.

"Don't worry Penny, I'll save you!" Bolt dashed into the living room, up over the couch and onto the sill of the window they had left open. He swiped once with his paw and cut a slice through the screen. He immediately jumped through headfirst.

The last thing he heard as he left the house was Mittens yell,

"Save her from what?!?!"

* * *

And scene.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Personally I'm not happy with the end of the chapter, but the story must go on.

Remember, you can email with questions, comments, criticisms, attaboys and death threats, or leave them in reviews. The link to my email is in my profile. I'm still looking for a few more people that can make themselves available to beta read my chapters and to bounce ideas off of. So if you are interested in chatting with me about my stories or characters, mention it in your review or email me.

If you like what you're reading, pelt your friends with links to the story and make sure they review too! The more the merrier!

Until next time, I'll leave you with the nagging questions: _What will the van monster do to Penny? Will Bolt be able to save her? Will Mittens ever figure out Bolt? And once again, what is going to happen to Bolt at the school?!?!?_


	3. The Event

**Chapter 3: The Event**

"Class, this is Doctor Jackson, he is a research assistant at the Ilsan SLP Institute next door in the university research park."

"Please Caroline, it's Mark. And I'm the Lead Experimental Assistant, I work closely with Doctor Paul Sidar, the latest winner of the Nobel Prize in Biology."

"Well, yes. Today's class will be a presentation from, uh… Mark here. His research is in the same field as many of the research topics you will be choosing from later in the semester to do your science thesis on. So I want you to listen carefully to everything he has to say, his research is very interesting." Mark smiled at Caroline at this, knowing that she will be quite impressed with what he does once he's done with his presentation to her, well to her class.

"Oh, and there will be a quiz tomorrow on his presentation, so you should take _short_ notes while he presents." At this, most of the class takes out some paper and a pen, but they are also quite interested in what he has to say. After all, he is from THE Ilsan SLP, where it's rumored Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (D.A.R.P.A.) research is being done, stuff you only see Sci-Fi movies. The class of senior students at Trinity Private School is quite interested to find out which of the rumors are true, if any. One of the students puts up his hand to ask about one particularly interesting rumor.

"Mark will take questions after the presentation." The hand regretfully descends.

"I'm sure you guys have heard tons of crazy rumors about what we do at the SLP, like that we are working on alien corpses." The class noticeably perks up at this, which makes Mark chuckle.

"No, there are no aliens in our labs, but I have to admit, some of the things we do in the main lab are out of this world. Today I'm going to make a presentation on the lead project in the lab. For fun, let me take a few guesses from the class. You." Mark pointed to a boy in the right side of the room who quickly put up his hand.

"I bet you guys are making laser guns."

Mark chuckled again. "No, our research is not weapon related, at least not directly. Remember, Doctor Sidar won the Nobel Prize in _Biology_. You?"

"Next generation, undetectable steroids!" "Oh yah, that would be so awesome!" The boy's friend gave him a high five as he laughed.

Mark stared at him, and then shook his head. _How did a meat head like that get into Caroline's class? Must be some benefactor's kid._

"No, we aren't working on steroids. Anyone else?"

A shy, smart kid in the back put up his hand.

"You in the back?"

"Doctor Sidar got his Nobel for his research into nano-particles done in 2005. I'd bet you are expanding on that with attempts at functional nanobots."

The class went silent at this, the smart kids because of how interesting this topic is, and the rest because Jack finally spoke up.

"Well, someone that knows about Sidar's work, I'm impressed. Yes, his Nobel was for nano-particles, and yes we are working on programming these nano-particles so that they can act at the cellular scale in a living organism. Popular media likes to call this technology nano-machines or nanobots. We just call them Programmable Nano Particles, or PNPs."

Caroline looked very impressed with this news, and a little scared for Mark knowing that he shouldn't be telling a class full of teenagers this kind of detail of what they are doing. But Mark looked quite smug, having just struck the entire room dumb.

"They are self replicating machines that function with energy from their environment. They are very adaptable and capable of great feats; we really don't have a clear idea of their limits. Recently we have started animal testing with self-programming PNPs, the mice tests have gone really well and we might begin moving onto tests with more advanced animals such as canines and primates."

There was some grumbling and shifting from the class at the mention of animal testing.

"Don't worry, we are very humane with our test animals, and only use a small amount of mice, no large scale tests until we think it's safe."

Mark looked back at Caroline, who looked utterly dumbstruck at this point, and a little more scared. Mark ignored the scared part, and thought about how easy it would be to get her back to his place tonight after this next bit of his presentation.

"I even brought a capsule of them so you can get a look at the future." At this the silence of the room evaporated as everyone leaned forward to try to get a look and talk with their friends. "Can you believe this guy?" "He's _gotta_ be pulling our legs, there is no way he'd…" "Jenny is going to love this! She'll wish she never dropped this class in the first week."

Mark opened his briefcase on his desk and pulled out a capsule filled with gray goo, holding it up triumphantly between his finger and his thumb. It was about the size of his thumb, with a cap on one side.

"They are about 100 times smaller than a human cell, capable of entering the cytoplasm of a cell and making chemical and electrical changes. There are 500 billion of them in this capsule here, but most of the capsule is just a suspension fluid. They are dormant right now until they get activated by blood and warmth. They can communicate with each other over centimeter range, or I guess I should say inch for you guys. They are self programming, and they can specialize into specific roles, PNPs in muscle tissue will work on making the muscle better, or make bones harder, or make neurons faster, et cetera."

"This batch is has been given the directive to improve its host in any way it can. They have a limited form of awareness, simply because there are so many of them. This generation also has the first version of wireless communication. We are going to try to get mice to talk to computers with their minds, isn't that cool?"

The class was once again dumbstruck. Did he just say that mice could talk to computers with their _minds?_

Caroline had sat down on a nearby bench. _I can't believe any of this is possible, there is no way they have advanced that quickly in that lab, it's just not possible. The complexity alone would be just…_

"We have been having some trouble with the hosts recently, or more specifically their immune systems. As the PNPs get more complex and larger, the host's body responds to them more strongly. Our recent batch has had a failure rate as high as 90%, with 50% dying from massive shutdown within 24 hours. We are trying to understand what is happening.

"Recently we have been trying to temporarily turn off the immune system during initialization, and then adapt all of the PNPs to the body's immune key. It seems to be very promising so far, and this batch also has the latest version of that initialization software."

There was barking and yelling coming from the hall. Miss Parkman awoke from her daze and opened to door beside her to see what was going on.

A white bolt of fur blasted into the classroom, barking and scaring poor Caroline silly. Mark dropped the vial that he had been gesturing wildly with.

* * *

Bolt darted through a door being opened by a shocked looking guy with a broom.

"Penny! Where are you Penny? Are you hurt?" Bolt kept going at full speed despite the yells coming from behind him. On his right he glanced into a room, so he slowed down to check if Penny was being held captive. Instead he saw many people sitting at desks, but they were all looking at him, and seemed surprised.

_What is this place? Those people are just kids…_

Bolt darted off further down the hall, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of Penny. _She must be here somewhere. That fast moving thing that abducted her is just outside, and Penny wasn't in it._

Bolt kept running from door to door. For some reason he could see through the doors here. _They must be some kind of force fields instead of doors._ The man with the mop was now chasing Bolt, using the mop to try to herd Bolt out of the school. Bolt would have none of that, and charged off around a corner, deeper into the hostile facility.

As he rounded the second corner, he spotted Penny in one of the rooms as he slid into the wall.

"Penny! I'm coming Penny!" The person near the door pushed the force field aside and Bolt charged into the room. His front right paw came down on something that crunched, and pain shot up Bolt's leg. He, of course, ignored it because Penny was right in front of him.

Bolt jumped up onto her desk. "Penny!" His paw left a smudge of that stuff Mittens had called blood. "Wait, you aren't Penny. IT'S A TRAP! RUN!"

Bolt immediately turned tail and headed for the door. The man in front of the room tried to stand in the way of the entrance, but he was a terrible henchman and the dog simply ran through his open legs, out to freedom.

"Hah ha! That will teach you for trying to trap the Super Dog!" Bolt decided this entire building must be a diversion, they must have moved Penny elsewhere. _I'll find you Penny, I promise._

The guy with the mop was looking for Bolt out in the corridor. At Bolt's emergence he charged towards the intruder. "Get out of my school!"

Bolt dashed around a corner and dug his nails into a carpet and took off. He heard more yelling and a loud crash from behind him.

Bolt dashed out another large set of doors, back outside. The kid at this door looked utterly shocked.

_They probably weren't expecting a Super Dog attack. That will teach them for not preparing properly._

* * *

"Penny, it's great to meet you in person, finally. Please have a seat." The jovial school principal seemed genuinely pleased to meet her. "My daughter loves your show! It'll be so great to have you at our school."

"Thanks Mr. Longbottom, but it isn't my show anymore."

"Of course not dear, and my daughter tells me it just isn't the same without you. Something about Bolt not being as brave as before. And aliens." Penny giggled at this.

"Yeah, that show has taken a very strange turn. I didn't really think they could pull that off."

It was Mr. Longbottom's turn to chuckle. "Yes, indeed. Well, let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Sure. I chose your school mostly because of the technology programs, and your links to the local university."

"Yes, Trinity Private School is renowned for its computer and science programs, and our links to the university allow us to have prestigious guest speakers. Why, just today we have someone presenting to the Advanced Topics in Science class from Ilsan SLP."

"Wow, now that is something. I'd love to see that presentation, Doctor Sidar has done some amazing work." Rose looked at Penny, amazed at her daughter's ability to name obscure scientists.

"When we do the tour, it should be no problem to have a little Q&A with him. So, were there any questions you had about the school before I launch into my presenta-"

Mr. Longbottom was rudely interrupted by some kind of scuffle in the hall. He frowned and went to the door. When he opened it, he saw his janitor sprinting down the hall with a broom.

"Smith, what is going on out here?!"

"Oh, well some white dog charged into the school and is making quite the racket, I'm just trying to get it out."

At that Penny, spoke up from behind the Principal. "What kind of dog?"

"Uh… a medium sized American shepherd, I think. Why?"

"Oh, god. BOLT! HERE BOY!" Penny charged out of the room, yelling for her dog.

"Bolt? As in the dog from the show?" Mr. Longbottom looked confused and slightly excited. Maybe it wasn't his daughter that was the fan.

"The very same, and he's a handful at times." Rose shook her head and endeavored to follow her yelling daughter.

* * *

Bolt ran across some wet grass, then into a big, square road, with cars stopped all around and buildings surrounding it. Bolt couldn't read the sign, of course, but he ran right in front of Ilsan SLP Institute.

He was starting to feel weak for some reason; his front right paw was feeling especially strange. It was still leaking blood too.

Bolt ignored that and continued his search, doing a quick circuit of the parking lot, not picking up any sign of Penny. The tingle had spread into his shoulder now. The world spun strangely as he looked around for Penny.

"Bolt? Where are you?" The dog did a quick turn at the sound of that voice, and charged full speed back towards the school. This made the world spin a bit faster.

"Penny! I'm so happy to see you! I thought I lost you!" The strange tingle had spread further into his neck and chest. He couldn't feel his paw anymore.

His full speed sprint began to slow, then after a few more strides his front right paw collapsed under his weight and he came to a sliding halt on the slick grass.

"_**BOLT! **_Oh my god! Bolt!" Penny slid into Bolt on her knees and picked up his head, turning it to face her. Bolt was still awake, and smiled at the sight of her.

Then his eyes rolled back in his head.

* * *

You probably totally hate me for that last line don't you?

Well, there is your chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. This has been hands down my favorite chapter possibly in the entire story. I really enjoyed the presentation at the start, with the descriptions of the PNPs. I also really like how the action sequence with Bolt turned out. It was great to write.

Regarding the other chapters, I have ch4 basically wrapped up and sent off to the beta readers. If you want to get a copy of the chapter before it lands on here, say something in your review and I will contact you.

Remember, you can email with questions, comments, criticisms, attaboys and death threats, or leave them in reviews. The link to my email is in my profile. If you like what you're reading, pelt your friends with links to the story and make sure they review too! I am bloodthirsty for fresh eyes (or is that eye thirsty? I can never figure it out).

Until next time, I'll leave you with the nagging questions: _What is Penny going to do? Will the janitor be okay? How is the school going to react? Oh and OMGWTF IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO BOLT?!?!?!?_


	4. Wake

**Chapter 4: Wake **

Rose continued running in the direction the confused teacher had pointed her in, out into a courtyard opening to a square with a parking lot. On the far side of the courtyard was her daughter, kneeling on the wetground.

"Penny! Did you find Bolt?" she yelled as she ran.

"Mom!" Penny turned to face her, and she had tears running down her face. "Bolt collapsed when he was running towards me! I had just found him, and now he won't wake up!"

Her mom was upset from seeing her daughter like this, and tried to console her, "Shhhh, it's ok honey, we'll take Bolt to a vet's and everything will be fi-"

"NO! I never should have left him like that at home. He was obviously terrified and chased after the van." Penny was distraught for once again causing Bolt hardship. When Bolt had run away, she had blamed herself the whole time. She should never have let them deceive Bolt, she had said. She held his fragile body to her chest, careful not to squeeze too much

"I know honey, it's ok, we'll get him help."

Penny shook her head, spreading tears out across the grass. "You're not getting it; it's my fault this happened. This is just like last time, and it's my fault!" Penny was sobbing now, hugging her dog to her chest.

"Honey, I'm going to bring the van around, ok? It'll only be a minute." Rose jogged away from her crying daughter, knowing she would never leave her dog alone and she was in no condition to walk through her new school with her dog in her arms.

_Oh god I hope Bolt is going to be alright. _

_

* * *

_Humming.

And crying.

That was Penny. Why was Penny crying?

Bolt tried to open his eyes, but the light was too bright.

* * *

_Am I dreaming? It feels like I'm floating. I have to find Penny._

"Ok Honey, Dr. Black will be here in 30 minutes, and then everything will be alright. Hey, is Bolt awake?"

Bolt tried to look around. The room spun, so he closed his eyes.

* * *

Light.

The light was right in his eyes_. Why is it so bright?_

Bolt tried to pull away, but he just felt so weak, like he was in some kind of nightmare.

"Well, he's responding. That's a good sign. But it doesn't look like an infection. And you said he seemed perfectly fine toda-"

The talking faded away. The blackness returned.

"-Yoo-hoo, Bolt, you in there?" Someone was pulling on his eyelids. Someone small. Someone squeaky.

"Rhino, you had better leave me alone before I eat you." His speech was slurred, probably because he hadn't tried to lift his head. That didn't work so well last time so Bolt decided against it.

"Bolt! You're awake!" Mittens was now in his face too.

Bolt tried to look around without moving. The room was still spinning. Was that the TV?

_I must be on the couch. Wow I feel really horrible._

"Come on, lift up your head Bolt, you can do it!" Rhino was trying to lift his nose, and wasn't having much luck on getting Bolt to get up.

But he was making the room spin faster.

"Rhino stop that, you are making it spin." Bolt was barely speaking clearly enough to be heard.

"What? What does that me-"

The blackness rushed back in around his vision.

* * *

"Oprah, this is just the _BEST THING __**EVER**_!"

The high-pitched wail hurt Bolt's head and he winced. He slowly pulled his eyes open to see a big, loud human on the TV.

"I'm going to strangle that hamster." His voice sounded less slurred then last time.

"Mittens! He's awake again!" At least his squeak wasn't as loud as the fat lady.

"This time let's give him his space, alright?" Mittens and Rhino again entered his field of vision.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Bolt made an effort to speak clearly.

"How do you feel Bolt? What happened?" Mittens said.

"I don't know, I don't remember. Oh, my head hurts."

"Take it easy, don't try to move."

"Where is Penny?"

"Over there." Bolt tried to slowly turn his head to face where Rhino was pointing despite Mittens' advice. The room spun faster, but Bolt managed to hold it together.

"Penny." She was sitting at the glowing thing again, probably making clicking noises too. She heard him and turned around and looked.

"Oh, Bolt! You're awake!" She ran over and sat in front of the couch to cuddled Bolt's face. "Bolt, I was so scared, I'm sorry I left you alone like that."

Bolt feebly stuck out his tongue to lick Penny's face and she leaned in so he could get a few in. Bolt felt Mittens and Rhino cuddle into his side. He felt very tired, and wanted to get some sleep.

"I'll be OK Penny, now that you are here."

Bolt calmly closed his eyes and drifted off into real sleep.

* * *

"Oh, was Bolt awake?" said Rose as she walked into the room to check in with Penny.

Penny sighed. "Yah, he was for a bit there. He even licked my nose." She smiled sadly at this.

"That's great, honey. When the blood work gets back we'll find out what's wrong with him. Doctor Black said he'd put a rush on it, and even do some of the work himself. We should have some news by tomorrow. Come on honey, you need to get some sleep."

"What should I do with Bolt? I can't just leave him down here alone."

"Alright, we can take him up to your room." Together, they shooed the other animals away from Bolt, and Rose helped Penny pick the ball of white fur up as softly as they could. They took their time and slowly walked up the stairs to her room.

As Penny entered her room, she thought of Bolt's face as he begged to get on the bed. "Mom, I'm going to put him on my bed, he likes it there."

"Alright honey." They added an extra small blanket and a few pillows around the sick canine.

"Goodnight." "Night mom."

Penny quickly changed and got into bed. Mittens had followed her into the room and snuggled up beside the sick dog. _I guess Mittens is worried, too._

_Good night Bolt, get better soon._

"Oh, my head…"

Bolt awoke to a dark room. He looked around and realized he was on Penny's bed. He still felt very tired, so he didn't feel much like moving around. He did unleash a large dog yawn, which awoke Mittens who was lying beside him for some strange reason.

"Bolt, you're awake? That's great!"

"Shhhh, keep it down! Penny is still sleeping."

"And after all that he's still worried about Penny's sleep", Mittens said to herself. "So what happened to you? We've been sitting here wondering what went on. The last thing I saw you do was run out that window."

"Yah that was pretty brave wasn't?"

"You can say that again! You didn't even hesitate, and all because Penny got into a van."

"What's a van? I've heard you talk about it before but I don't really get it." The cat just looked at him.

"I keep forgetting you don't know all these things. You must have lived a really sheltered life on that show." Bolt just chuckled. Mittens continued, "A van is a name for those bigger cars. Not the really big ones, or the kinda big ones, just the blocky ones with the extra seats. Remember cars? People use them to get around."

"Right. I have no idea why I didn't think of that."

"So what happened to you out there? Why are you sick?"

"I really have no idea. First, I chased that 'van' to a strange place filled with kids in rooms sitting at tables. Then-"

"Are you talking about a school?"

"A school… What kind of evil is that?"

"All the kids go there, I don't really understand it but it seems everyone has too-"

"That is terrible! They lock all their kids in prison?!" Mittens just looked at Bolt for a second.

"It's not a prison, they play and sit at those desks, I saw inside one once. But it's normal, and I was honestly wondering when Penny would go. We've been here for a long time and all she does is hang around at home. Well, and play with her toys."

"So, uh, she didn't need saving from some evil prison?" Mittens shook her head. "Well that makes me feel stupid."

"I can imagine. So what happened when you were there?"

"Well the place had force fields instead of doors! Like that thing up there that lets you see outside. I thought I spotted Penny through one and-"

"Wait wait wait. Force fields? You don't mean glass doors do you?"

"Uh, now I feel more stupid." Bolt was already getting more tired; Mittens could hear it in his voice.

"It's OK, continue with your story."

"Well, I saw Penny through a glass door and charged into the room. I stepped on something on the floor, that's where I got this cut." Bolt lifted his paw to show mittens the gash on it.

"Ouch"

"I don't really feel it; the rest of me feels worse. Anyways, I realized it wasn't Penny when I jumped up on the desk. Then I realized it must be some kind of trap, and I turned to see the evil henchman blocking the door."

"Ahem"

"What? Oh, right. Not an evil lair. I forgot. I guess it wasn't a trap, must have just been a misunderstanding."

"You figure?"

"Ha ha! Enjoy your laughs cat. The Green Eyed Man and all his henchmen will get what's coming to them eventually."

"Now I'm concerned on a number of levels." Then she noticed he was trying to keep a straight face. She smiled at him and his façade broke into a few quiet laughs.

"In all seriousness, I had really believed Penny was in danger. I don't know what triggered it, but I just had to save her from the moment I saw her get into that van. And when I was in that 'school' with the glass doors, I started to believe I was a super dog again. I guess I just really want that hero feeling back, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it Bolt. It was a really important part of your life for a long time, and it's hard to let that kind of thing go." Her voice got quieter. "It took me a long time to adapt to the streets after I got left behind."

Bolt gave her a sad smile. "Anyways, I ran out of that room, thinking the school was a diversion. Some guy had been chasing me the whole time, but he was slow and I lost him around a corner."

"Applied a little zoom-zoom super speed?"

"Hah, no. When he tried to round the corner he fell flat on his face." Mittens cracked up at his, she tried to keep it down but it was hard. Bolt just didn't have the energy for a real laugh.

"What is all the yammering about? And you said I was bad…" Rhino had stuck his head out of his house. "Oh Bolt, your awake!"

"Keep it down Rhino, Penny is sleeping after all."

"Oh okay, yeah. Hey, how are you feeling Boltie?"

"Damn tired, I hurt all over and I barely feel like moving. We were just talking about what happened to me."

"And? What happened after you got away from that guy?" Mittens seemed interested in the rest of the tale.

Bolt told them the end of the story. Bolt held up his wounded leg. "My paw still feels a little odd, I can't really describe it."

"That sounds terrible! What did they do to you!?"

"Calm down Rhino. I'll be fine, I already feel much better than earlier. I felt like death warmed over before."

"Well, and then what happened? I want to hear the rest of the story!"

"Not much else to tell, Rhino. I remember seeing Penny's face. I remember some flashes of things. There was some fat lady on TV yelling about something? I dunno, it's all really fuzzy. I do remember you trying to lift my nose Rhino." The hamster laughed and shrunk back at this.

"Yah, we had you on the couch. Penny sat with you a lot, and Rhino was watching TV. Penny was really upset, Bolt. She cried a lot. Then they brought you up here and everyone went to sleep."

"Mittens sat with you the whole time, she seemed worried."

"Well, yeah. We didn't know what was going to happen! If you had died, who would I play with?" Bolt gave Mittens a smile, appreciating her lame attempt at affection.

"I'm still really tired guys; I think I need more sleep."

"You get back to bed Bolt; Mittens will fill me in with the rest of the story."

"Short version: Bolt is stupid."

Bolt chuckled. "Yeah, that sums it up. Night guys, see you in the morning."

Mittens cuddled into Bolt again, obviously still worried about losing him.

_It's great to have such good friends._

* * *

Author note:

At first I didn't like how this chapter turned out, but I got a ton of input on it from my beta readers. If you enjoyed this chapter, blame Hihey9989, Carl Minez and Ihmehlmenn. Their input was invaluable, and I'm looking forward to their input on the rest of the story.

It'll be about 3 days until I post chapter 5. I had some trouble starting it, and I think it needs a ton of beta work, but I'm confident I can whip it into shape so you guys can enjoy it. Keep your eyes open for it.

You can email with questions, comments, criticisms, attaboys and death threats, or leave them in reviews. The link to my email is in my profile. I am powered not by food and water, but by reviews and comments. So if you want me to live long enough to post chapter 5, post a review, and email me or PM me with any questions. I live for approval.

Until next time I leave you with **The Questions**: W_ill Bolt recover from his injuries? What is in Bolt's body and what will they do? What will happen when Rhino tries to pull Bolt's eyes open again? _

_Find out next time!_


	5. Interlude 1: The Good Guys

**Interlude 1: The Good Guys**

"So you _are_ telling me that you brought a vial of our latest batch to the local private school?"

"Yessir"

"And you made a presentation about the technology?"

"Yessir"

"And in the middle of the presentation a _dog_ rushed in and you _dropped_ the vial?"

"Yessir"

Dr. Sidar sighed, feeling a disaster coming on, along with a headache. He knew his experimental assistant was impulsive but he never imagined that he would be capable of this. He probably never would have found out if his incompetent lab 'assistant' had returned the vial. _I wonder if there was a girl involved._

"Well is there anything else you would like to add to this little story?"

"it'spossiblehegotinfected"

"Did you just say what I think you said?"

Mark Jackson took a deep breath. "Yes sir, it's possible the dog was infected with the PNPs. I think he stepped on the vial, there was blood leading out of the room."

_Just when I thought this couldn't get any worse._ "So let me get this straight. There might be a dog out there infected with our latest generation PNPs?"

"Yes sir"

"And you chased him down and caught him right?"

His blank and surprised stare told him all he needed to know.

The Nobel Prize winning doctor closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Best case scenario, it dies and no one ever finds out about this. Worst case scenario, the PNPs take and we have to track down someone's enhanced pet in the middle of a media circus. Anything _else_ you'd like to add?"

"The class really liked my presentation", Jackson said in a quiet voice.

"That's great news, so you can give an effective presentation to a class of 16 year olds about our top secret DARPA research project? Excellent now I can put you in charge of our high school division. Get the hell out of my face before I fire you."

Jackson stuck his hands in his pockets and walked out of the room, head low. Dr. Sidar picked up his phone and called Lindsay Wachter, the Executive Manager in charge of the bureaucracy at Ilsan SLP Institute.

"Lindsay come to my office, we've got a security problem."

Sidar didn't have long to wait. Her office wasn't far, but he imagined her walking through the hall right now. It wasn't pretty.

"What have we got Bill?" She came into his office at a brisk walk and immediately took hold of the situation.

"Well it seems that idiot Mark Jackson managed to do something pretty stupid. He took a vial of active PNPs out of the lab to Trinity private school." Her eyes went wide at this. "He then proceeded to give a presentation to a class about our research." Lindsay's mouth fell open for the first time he had ever witnessed, "How did we hire someone so stupid?"

"Wait there's more. For some reason a _dog_ burst into the classroom and he dropped the vial. He thinks the dog stepped on the vial because there was blood leading out of the classroom after the dog made his escape. He could have been infected by the PNPs."

"Well did he follow the dog?"

"That would make things too easy wouldn't it?"

"Of course. So I guess you want me to use our security team to try to track down this dog?"

"Do we have a choice? We can't just have this technology running around out there. If any of our competitors, or god forbid our enemies, got a hold of him we'd be in the center of a shit storm of epic proportions."

"So what kind of information do you have for the security team to track down this dog?"

Dr. Sidar rummaged around his desk for the spec sheet for yesterday's batch. "Well, this batch has the first version of the computer interface, hmm, oh and the first version of the immune suppression initialization. That means that this dog would have gotten sick for exactly 30 hours." Dr. Sidar looked at his watch. "From the timeline Jackson gave me the initialization will run its course shortly. That means the dog will either die from a massive immune response, or if it works properly he will be feeling a lot better than he has ever felt before."

Dr. Sidar looked at the papers again. "Yes it says here this batch had the general directive of making its host better in any way it saw fit. This is part of our adaptive PNP trial. This means that the effects of the PNPs will be unpredictable, but will likely be very positive for the host."

"What does that mean? Is this dog going to have superpowers?"

"You mean like Superman? No. But the first thing the PNPs will work on is simple things like strength, speed, bone durability and endurance. Senses will then be improved in the host, and as the PNPs adapt to their host unpredictable symptoms will emerge."

"Do you mean this dog will be able to shoot laser beams from his eyes like that television show?"

"Don't be ridiculous, that show is pure fiction for kids. My daughter watches it all the time and the stuff I see them do on that show is just ludicrous. I once saw that dog hold a car off a bridge with only his teeth; the physics alone of the situation make no sense even assuming the dog had that kind of strength."

"So what kind of things will my men have to deal with?"

"I have no idea. This next generation of PNPs uses some basic fuzzy logic when it comes to the adaptive routines. This means that they could decide giving the dog wings is a good idea. This research is truly bleeding edge, I just don't know enough about how these algorithms behave in the field to give you a good estimate."

"Well I'll have my team check out local vets, but I wouldn't hold much hope there."

"That does seem like a long shot, we'll just have to let your people do what they do best. I'll work on getting you more information about this batch, but it's one of the most unpredictable ones we've made so far."

"I guess we'll just have to play it by ear. I'll go get the search started. I'll start with that idiot, Mark Jackson." Lindsay left the room as suddenly as she arrived.

Dr. Sidar put his head in his hands._ I guess I can't say my life lacks excitement anymore._

_

* * *

_

**Author note:  
**Well, there is a short little interlude for you guys to break up the tedium of a story about a dog. Who wants to read about some dog, when you can read about stupid research assistants and technobabble? No? You want the dog back? Well, tune in next chapter, and I promise more furry action.

Once again the quality of this chapter can be blamed on my beta readers. But this time, if it's bad blame them, alright? Only one of them beta read this, I guess I'm just not very important to them. Ok Ok, I'll admit I pulled a quick one on them and put this chapter ahead of chapter 5, which they have all already given me beta input on. That chapter is in good shape, and there should be a shorter wait between chapters for that one.

If you have something to say you can email with questions, comments, criticisms, attaboys and death threats, or leave them in reviews. The link to my email is in my profile. Remember, I will STARVE TO DEATH without reviews, you wouldn't want that, would you? I live for your adorations.

But for now I'll leave you with the **questions**: _Adaptive PNPs? Oh my! Massive immune response, that doesn't sound good at all! And what will happen to our hero, Mark Jackson? Oh, and will Bolt grow wings??!?!? WTF!_


	6. Recovery

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the interlude: **Chris, Hihey9989, Carl Minez, Camilo, Anhell and Lanari**. Chris, you should sign up for an account so I can contact you!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Recovery**

"You'd better consider yourself lucky, dog; because I'm never gonna sleep beside you again." Bolt had slobbered all over her back and Mittens wasn't very thrilled with it.

She jumped down off the bed. Penny hadn't woken up yet so the room was still quiet, even Rhino hadn't emerged from his house yet. Mittens again used the button to unlatch the door_. Damn that thing is convenient._

As Mittens emerged into the hallway and continued on down the stairs, she looked around. The house was still all though. There were some birds squawking out on the tree. _I'll chase them off later. _

She sighed. _I really hope Bolt is going to be alright, he definitely wasn't his chipper self last night. He barely laughed at all._ It was clear the cat was worried about the dog in the way she looked back upstairs.

_I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost that dog._

Mittens went into the kitchen to check her bowl. _There must be some food left over from last night, I never ate any of it._ As Mittens came around the corner she saw that her bowl was empty. She sighed and drank some water instead.

After a few sips Mittens turned around and returned upstairs. At the top of the stairs she took a sharp right down a short hall leading to Rose's room. The door was slightly ajar so Mittens slipped inside and jumped up on the bed.

The grumpy cat walked on Rose and made a hassle of herself until Rose started moving. "C'mon sleepy head. You've got to feed me." There was some grumbling and a hand emerged to pet the cat.

"Alright I'm up; you act like you'll die if you don't get petted. Oh man, I need my coffee." Rose turned her head to look at the clock, 7:09. She got up and put her slippers on, then continued out of her room and downstairs. She went straight for the coffee machine and got it set up and brewing. Mittens was making a racket behind her.

"Okay I'll get you some food, as long as you pipe down."

Once Mittens was fed she was much more manageable.

* * *

"Bolt, Bolt wake up! You're dreaming!" Bolt was kicking and snorting, looking scared.

"What? What? Oh man, I was being chased by vans with see through doors, and Penny was in each one!"

"Calm down Bolt, calm down. It was just a dream." Bolt took a breath and looked around the room to see Penny was missing, and that it was bright outside. He tried to detangle himself from the blanket he had caught himself in. Mittens was standing in front of him, looking worried.

"Sorry if I scared you, that dream was weird."

"Don't worry about that, how do you feel?"

"I'm still exhausted, and I hurt all over."

"You need to eat something; I'll go grab some food."

"Wait, I really don't think I can eat right now. But, I am thirsty."

"Penny thought of that, look over there." Mittens pointed with her nose. There was a big bowl with some water in it on the bed. Apparently his thrashing had spilt some of the water; the blanket around it was a bit wet.

"Yeah, my person is quite smart." The tired dog got up slowly, approached the bowl and tried to not spill it as he went over. He took his time and drank slowly. The bowl was empty before he was sated.

"I guess you haven't eaten or drank anything since yesterday."

"No I haven't. I'm totally parched still, so I guess I'll have to make a trip downstairs. This will be fun."

Mittens smiled sideways at him. "I'll be right there beside you on the stairs. After getting me in with Penny's family, I owe you that much."

"Don't worry about it Mittens, you deserved a good home. Now clear out, this won't be pretty." Bolt slouched by the side of the bed, getting ready to get down without falling over. He didn't manage it.

Mittens cringed, "Ohhh, that looked like it hurt." Bolt just groaned, lying on his side after his failed dismount.

"I'm just going to take a short break here. The world is still spinning; it's hard to stand straight. The water helped though, so I'm looking forward to getting downstairs."

"I can go get Penny, she can bring more water." Mittens didn't want the dog to hurt himself on the stairs.

Bolt shook his head. "No, I can do this. Could you open the door a bit more please?"

Mittens nosed the door a bit further open so. Bolt pushed his weak body off the carpet with a grunt, and then walked out of the room with only a small stumble to his right.

They arrived side by side at the top of the stairs.

"You ready for this?" There was a slight tremor in his voice.

"No?"

"Me neither."

They slowly worked their way downstairs, one step at a time. Bolt kept his flank against the wall and Mittens was in sync beside him, pushing him back upright once he started leaning toward her. As they continued down the woozy pup was slowly swaying more on each step. Six stairs from the bottom Bolt stumbled.

"Oh shit!" Mittens just grunted as she tried to prevent certain death from stairs. With a gargantuan effort she managed to push on him enough so that he could cover his balance. They both paused after their near death experience, Bolt leaning against the wall.

Penny had heard their struggles and ran over to help them with the last few steps. "Hey Boltie, feeling better?"

"I'm thirsty." Penny laughed at his yip and picked him up.

"You probably want some water, don't you boy?" Bolt wagged and licked her face. Mittens followed them into the kitchen where Penny put her dog down by the water bowl. She waited quietly as he drank. Eventually he was done and she refilled it after he finished it off so he could continue to drink.

After a few minutes he was satisfied and brought his nose up. Water was dripping down all over the floor. "Silly doggy, look at the mess you made." Bolt gave a yip of approval and went into the living room followed by his trusty cat. He got up on the couch one paw at a time, instead of jumping like he usually does. He walked in a circle a few times finding a good spot on the left cushion.

"I think I'll take a little nap. At least the room isn't spinning anymore and my tongue doesn't feel like sandpaper." Mittens laughed and jumped up on the bench beside the window. Penny entered and sat down beside Bolt to pet him.

"Go ahead, you need more beauty sleep. Just look at you, you're a dog."

"Ha ha, yet another hilarious joke from Mittens the jester."

Bolt settled in and closed his eyes. Penny seemed quite content to just let Bolt nap the day away if that's what he wants.

"Have a good snooze Bolt", Mittens said quietly.

* * *

Penny had finally gotten started on solving that problem with the shopping list for her mom. The smart house was really great for some things, like groceries. Mom would just put in what meals she wanted to have, and the software figures out what they have and what they need to buy. It had been working great for them for a month, since Penny finally got around to setting it up properly.

When they had started looking for houses to buy after deciding to get away from Hollywood, Penny's only request was something she could tinker with. Smart houses had become more common recently, but it still took a long time to find the kind of house they wanted, in the kind of city they wanted, with access to the kind of school they wanted. They had really lucked out with this place; it was everything they were looking for in a nice little package.

It wasn't big with just 3 bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms, but they didn't need much. The yard was perfect for the dog, and farmer fields of wheat and corn surrounded the house. It was off of a quiet back road, with only their neighbors driving on it. The house had a great deck on 3 sides, which allowed for a lot of lazy Sunday afternoons. But, best of all, it had recently been heavily renovated to a smart house, with a central computer controlling everything in the house from lights to security. And Penny was in heaven, because it was all hers to tinker with.

She loved changing it, and installed a custom operating system she had found on the internet. It allowed her to do cool things such as, preheating the bathroom for showers, controlling the oven and microwave to never burn things, suggesting TV shows based what you like and making sure the pets are fed and watered. The controlled pet feeders were going to be her next project. She just had to get the hardware sent to her and get it set up how she wants.

But, right now the problem with the grocery list was not lending itself to an easy solution, and no one online was any help. Penny let out a frustrated sigh.

"You working on the grocery list?"

"Yeah, and I can't figure it out."

"Don't worry about it; I can just cross the 20 lbs of butter off the list when I print it. Come have some lunch."

Penny conceded and left the living room to eat a grilled cheese sandwich with her mom.

* * *

Bolt was awoken by a strange feeling, which spread across his body. The tingle was nothing like he'd ever felt before, and it was good. He felt invigorated, rejuvenated, almost reborn. He didn't feel the least bit weak or tired. Even his eyes and ears seemed to be working better, and everything was much sharper.

He felt like playing.

Bolt would probably never find out, but this happened exactly 30 hours, to the second, after he cut his paw in that classroom.

Bolt did a quick scan of the room and found his target, Mr. Carrot, near the bench Mittens was sleeping on. He stood up and made a flying leap from the couch directly onto Mr. Carrot. This of course scared the crap out of the sleeping cat. "AH! What is wrong with you! I was sleepin!" but the energized dog ignored her.

He proceeded to shake Mr. Carrot and throw him across the room. He pounced on him again and continued to shake and squeak it. He was interrupted by Penny who came up behind him.

"Oh my god. Bolt?"

Bolt dashed over to her and spit out the toy at her feet. He yipped a few times to try to get her to throw it for him. Penny was in shock and so was her mother who is now standing beside her. The younger girl bent down and picked up the chew toy.

"You figure he was faking this whole time Pen?"

"No way! You should have seen him on the stairs this morning, you can't fake that." Bolt was approaching full-throated barking, trying to get Penny to throw Mr. Carrot. Penny gave in and headed outside to play, her eyes lighting up at Bolt's miraculous recovery.

Mittens was still utterly motionless, in shock from Bolt's sudden revival.

* * *

The bemused cat watched from the window as Penny threw Mr. Carrot repeatedly for the energized dog. In a normal game of fetch, Bolt would run full speed after the toy and then trot back, and he was very dedicated, and gave 100% no matter what. He did eventually get tired, and in those situations he wouldn't bring the toy directly back to Penny, but instead he'd circle around her, and stop to chew on it a bit.

But, this was different. His _speed_. Bolt was normally a very quick dog, he got a lot of exercise on the TV sets. But each time Penny threw the toy, Bolt would take off with amazing speed. He was starting to make deep gouges in the grass near where Penny was standing. Once he burst out of the long grass with the toy in his mouth, he wouldn't be jogging, but once again _sprinting_. He would charge up to Penny, throw the toy down at her feet, and bark _loud_ until Penny threw it again. Penny was throwing as far as she could, trying to wear out the American Shepherd, but it seemed to be working against her as he was just getting more and more excited. It didn't even look like he was panting.

"Whose dog is outside barking, they are doing to wake up Bolt!" Rhino came into the living room to try to figure out what was going on.

Mittens gestured with her nose. "Look."

"What, what's going on?" The hamster scurried up on to the bench. He used a box to jump onto the windowsill. As Rhino got his head into the window frame, Bolt once again burst from the long grass. You could still see the grass closing behind him for 10 feet.

"Wha-what?" Bolt put on the brakes, digging more gouges, and then spit out the toy and proceeded to bark repeatedly at Penny. She tried to pet her dog, to get him to calm down a bit, but he'd have none of that, and he took off figuring she'd run after him and he could play chase. But she just stood there in shock, still not really understanding what happened. Bolt continued running, and ended up running all the way around the house. He enjoyed the first lap so much that he continued to do 2 more without stopping.

"I don't… I don't understand… What happened to him?"

"Nothing, he just jumped off the couch, scared the crap out of me, then started playing with his carrot toy. Penny heard him, and he barked at her to get her to play with him. She did, and now they are outside."

"What? How long ago did this happen?"

"Just a few minutes ago."

"So nothing happened, he just got better and started running around like a mad man?"

"Yup"

"Wow"

Bolt made a dramatic catch and disappeared into the bushes, Mr. Carrot safely in his jaws.

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Well there it is, chapter 6 for public consumption. This chapter spent a long time in beta, as I was having trouble making good progress on chapter 7, but it's now done its first draft and off to the beta readers. You could be reading it right now if you ask me about beta reading.

Speaking of my beta readers, they did really great work on this chapter. I want to thank them for their input. This story would be very different and coming out a lot slower without them.

If you have something on your mind you can email with questions, comments, criticisms, attaboys and death threats, or leave them in reviews. The link to my email is in my profile. If you want to be immortalized in the review list in the next chapter, make sure to review!

But now, onto the **questions**: _What has happened to Bolt? What will Penny think? How will the poor puppy adapt to changes? What about Rhino and Mittens? And will Penny fix this persistent bug in the computer? Find out all this and more, next time._


	7. Playing with Mittens

Thanks to everyone that reviewed Chapter 6: tann15, AnimexoverCartoons, Hihey9989, Lanari, Starhunterz, Chris (please create an account so I can thank you for the reviews!), Superdogonwishlist (you too, create an account!), Anhell. You guys are great, thanks for all the wonderful reviews, please keep em coming!

**Chapter 7: Playing With Mittens**

Two arms poked out of the pile of blankets and reached for the sky and a groan came from beneath. Penny worked her tongue in her mouth a few times until it didn't feel like a desert. She turned her head to her right and pushed down the blankets a bit. _7:13, I've got a ton of time before I have to start doing stuff._

The drowsy girl took stock of herself. There was a warm and slightly wet spot on her thigh. She knew what that meant; Bolt had gotten up on her bed and slept with his head on her leg. The girl thought back to the rollercoaster ride that was yesterday, her dog was definitely the focus. _Mittens seemed really worried about him all day; I wish I knew where she came from and how she met my dog._

Bolt's miraculous recovery in the afternoon was definitely something she would remember for a long time. _He just must have really missed playing; I know how much he loves fetch. Yeah, that's it._

Later that day, Bolt had really wanted to eat, which was lucky because the phone rang just as they went inside. Mr. Longbottom from Trinity private school was calling to reschedule Penny's orientation and interview. After getting the meeting set up for this morning she hung up just before the phone rang again.

It was Dr. Black with the results from Bolt's blood test. He apologized for not getting back to them sooner and said that the first round of tests had given inconclusive results, and some of the results didn't even make any sense, something about very high metal content in his blood. He seemed honestly baffled and said that even after repeating the test multiple times they were still getting strange results. He had insisted that they bring in Bolt, so they can get some proper tests done and figure out what went wrong. Penny told them about what had just happened with Bolt and she didn't think that he needed anymore tests. He was astonished but insisted that they come in, so Penny set up an appointment for right after her orientation.

Penny glanced at the clock again to see that it was now 7:18. She stretched her hand down to wake the sleeping, slobbering mess on her leg. He awoke easily and seemed to appreciate her attention. He got up and meandered toward her face so that he could lick her nose. After a few licks, she decided he'd had enough, but Bolt wasn't done with her. A struggle ensued, and the playful dog ended up lying on his person only able to lick her chin, and she happily stroked his fur.

The noise had woken Mittens and she jumped up on the bed to get some attention. Penny pet her too so she wouldn't get upset with her._ I'd better get these two fed before they hassle me._

She pushed Bolt off and dug herself out of the warm blankets followed by Bolt and Mittens. Once she reached the floorboards in the hall she did a quick about face and went back for her slippers. Sufficiently protected she continued downstairs on her quest. _I have to get the computer controlled dog feeders set up so that I can avoid these early morning trips. Once winter sets in it'll be really cold out here._

Once her two leeches were fed and watered she headed back upstairs to jump in the shower and get ready for the day.

* * *

"Bolty, you can't chase after me today alright? I'm going to leave but you have to stay here, okay? I know you don't like being alone, but you have Mittens and Rhino for company."

Bolt managed to understand that his person was going somewhere, and that he shouldn't follow her. He wasn't happy about it and he kept pushing his head into her arms and whining, trying to get her to stay.

"Oh Bolt, I have to go." Penny hugged his furry body and kissed his head. "You're my good boy."

She let him go and closed the door on his puppy dog face. Bolt sighed.

"Don't worry, Bolt, you've got us to entertain you." As Mittens was talking he went over to the window to watch the van pull out of the driveway. "Bolt you know she had to leave, I told you about school, right?"

"Yeah, I know about school. I just don't want her to get hurt."

"She's a big girl, and she can take care of herself. It's not like she has villains chasing after her. I think we need to talk about yesterday; about what happened. Where did you get all that energy?" Bolt turned away from the empty driveway and sat down to talk to his friends.

"Again, I have no idea. I just woke up full of… I don't know what to call it, power?"

At this Rhino spoke up from his ball, "Bolt is getting his powers back! Soon he'll be able to super bark those pesky birds in the morning!"

"Oh yeah, you think that's cool, I'll melt this door down with my eyes, watch!" Bolt posed, eyes wide and _willed_ the door to open, pushed on it with his mind. He heard and felt an odd buzzing, and then the door swung open of its own accord.

The pets got excited, thinking Penny had returned, but when no one came through, and they went outside to look, they realized that no one opened the door. They looked at each other, eyes wide.

"Bolt… did you just open that door?" Mittens stared at him, looking confused.

"I… I don't know, how could I? I didn't touch anything; did you touch any weird buttons like the one upstairs?" Both of his friends signaled no.

"It must have just opened itself. That is really weird. Now that we are outside, I feel like playing. C'mon Mittens, find a stick!"

* * *

After the fifth time Bolt finally got hang of it and stopped breaking the sticks every time he tried to pick them up.

"What the hell is going on Bolt? You never had trouble picking up a stick before."

"I guess I don't know my own strength. I feel really strong today, like I could jump over that thing," Bolt gestured with his nose towards the squat metal shed in the backyard.

Mittens seemed concerned, and considering what just happened with the front door she was right to be. "Bolt, are you serious?"

"Let's find out!"

Bolt lined up for his dash with an apprehensive Mittens watching from the side and an excited Rhino watching from the deck, "Oh yeah, Bolt! DO IT!"

He took off with a tear of grass and what sounded like a battle cry. As the screaming white flash approached the shed, it bounded into the air. He jumped a little too late and his battle cry turned into a scream of surprise as he hit the peak of the shed. He flipped end over end and continued down the other side until he landed on the ground in a pile of battered white fur.

"Bolt! Are you alright!?" Mittens ran over to him and sniffed him, smelling blood. Bolt just groaned.

"Don't move! Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere. It hurts everywhere. Oh god, why was I so stupid…"

Rhino came around from the other side of the shed, eyes wide. "Bolt that was amazing! Sure, your technique needs some work, and your dismount wasn't so hot, but we'll work on that and in no time you'll be leaping over large buildings!"

"Yeah I'm sure he'll be leaping over the house tomorrow, just after we knit his broken bones back together."

"I'm just going to lie here for a minute. Ow, my nose stings."

"Here, let me look at it." Mittens got around him to take a look. On the right side of his muzzle was a short gash, there was some blood leaking out of it. "Ouch, that will leave a mark. I'll wash the blood off of it later."

"I'm bleeding? Great, just what I need, Penny worrying about me."

"Bolt, Penny is the least of your worries now, you just about killed yourself!"

"Don't exaggerate; I'm fine. Actually, I'm starting to feel a bit better." With a grunt Bolt flipped over onto his feet and pushed up into a sitting position. Rhino cringed at his bloody face. "What, I'm not looking so hot?"

"Let's just say you look worse than the day you destroyed Dr. Calico's undersea laboratories." Bolt thought back to that day, the muck and seaweed had taken hours at the spa. But in retrospect that place was probably just the makeup room of the studio.

Bolt favored his left front leg slightly. "Let's just take a break for a bit, alright? I'm not as indestructible as I used to be." The injured dog stretched out his front paws and laid down again.

"So uh," Mittens seemed unsure of herself, "you almost made it over."

Bolt glanced curiously at the building. "I think I would have if I had jumped earlier."

"How is it even possible? Dogs can't jump like that! No animal can!"

"Bolt is a super dog, he must be getting his powers back!" Bolt just stared at this.

"Rhino, I never had superpowers, TV is just make believe, remember?"

"How else can you explain it?"

Mittens seemed skeptical, "I don't know! It must have something to do with that strange sickness you had and with what happened at that school."

"But nothing happened at school; I cut my paw, that's it." Bolt lifted his injured right paw. "Here, take a look."

Mittens lifted it so she could look at the base. "Uh, Bolt? There is no cut here. Are you sure this is the right paw?"

"Of course it's the right paw! I think I know my paws."

"Here, let me take a look." Rhino rolled his ball under Bolt's paw so he could look at it closely. "I don't see anything Bolt, the cat is right."

"Well check this one." Bolt lifted up his other paw.

"Nope, nothing there either."

"It hurt a lot when it happened; it felt like that time I jumped out of the truck with you, Mittens."

"Ah, the memories," she put a fake fond look on her face. "Cuts don't just heal overnight, and it did look bad when you showed it to me yesterday."

"I guess. Let's go wash my face off in the stream; I don't want Penny getting any more worried than she already is." Bolt slowly stood up and started walking away. He glanced back when he realized they weren't following him. "You comin?"

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The long awaited chapter 7 is finally posted. The writing has been going slowly recently, but I've been thinking about the story, and I'm hoping that my new beta reader will help me get chapters out faster.

If you have something to say you can email me questions, comments, criticisms, attaboys and death threats, or leave them in reviews. The link to my email is in my profile. Reviewing also gets you in the list at the start of the next chapter.

And now for the questions: _Will Bolt manage to get his face cleaned off before Penny gets back? Will Penny discover their excursion? Will Bolt go crazy? What's going to happen at the vet's? And what's up with these crazy powers?!?!?_


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